Online job recruitment fell sharply last month, with the hospitality, education and healthcare sectors experiencing big declines, according to industry figures.

The latest employment index from Monster, the world's largest online rec-ruiter, comes ahead of official statistics due tomorrow which are expected to report a further rise in the number of people claiming unemployment benefit. Last month the Office for Nat-ional Statistics reported that the number of unemployment benefit claimants in-creased by 7,700 to 945,000 in April, the highest level since June 2003. The count rose in 13 of the previous 14 months, said officials.